Sly Bald Guys Stimulus Plan - Get a website

Once you get a domain name, you then need to get a hosting account for that domain name.  A hosting account is a server that you rent to put your website on so that people can view it.  Your domain name will point to this server.

I also buy all of my hosting at http://www.759domains.com.  The reasons that I buy everything there are 1) it's very inexpensive, 2) they have programs that I'm going to recommend using that install with just a click of a button, and 3) they have very reliable customer service that has always been helpful when I needed them.

For the average website, you should only need to pay around $4 a month for hosting, which equals $48 for the year.  Plus the $10 domain name, that's only $58 a year to run a website.

When choosing your hosting, there are two types of hosting to choose from, Linux or Windows.  I typically recommend choosing the Linux option as from my experience you will have more options to choose from when it comes to installing free software to make you website do what you need it to do.  If you wish to follow this tutorial on how to make money on the web, I suggest you choose the Linux option.

There is one time that I suggest using Windows, but that is a rare case which I will discuss later.

When you go to http://759domains.com to purchase your domain name, the site will ask you if you wish to purchase hosting.  Click "Yes, add this to my cart" and choose the linux hosting that cost around $4.  That's all you will need for now.

Once you have your website and hosting it's time to create a website.

The easiest way to create a website is to use a blogging software such as Serendipity or Wordpress.  While Wordpress is the more popular of the two, I actually have found it is easier to use Serendipity.  What's great about the two, is that they are both free if you buy your hosting from http://759domains.com and they install with just a click of the button.

Before we go further, let me explain what a blog is.  A blog is just short for Weblog.  Blogs started out as a site where people write about thier thoughts and other various things.  That type of site became popular so people started creating blogging software such as Serendipity and Wordpress.

To install a Serendipity blog login to your hosting account at http://759domains.com.  Click on the Hosting link on the left hand side of the page.  You will now see a link that says Manage Account next to your domain name that you purchased.  Click that link that says Manage Account.  This will most likely open up a new window.

At the top of the new window, you will see a link to Your Applications.  Click on this button and it will take you to a list of the types of applications that are available.  On the left side of the page click Blogging Software.  Now you will see a list of the blogging software.  Click on Serendipity.  You should now see a button that says Install Now!  Click on that button.

In your next screen you will need to enter a password for your database.  Don't worry about changing the name.  Once you've entered the password, click Next.

Next you need to choose the directory to install Serendipity into.  Delete "Serendipty" from the box and leave the box blank.  Now click Next.

Now it's time to enter the basic configurations for the blog.  Enter your admin login and password, email address, name, and then the Blog Title and Blog Description.  Don't worry, you can change this later if you need to.  Make sure to write down your login and password as you will need this going forward.

Click Finish and in a couple of minutes you will have created your first website!

My next article will talk about how to configure your new website.